Richards creates fun and lively images for clients who come from all over the Australia to sit their pets in front of her lens. But it was a Great Dane name Duke who inspired a whimsical project, earlier this year.

Duke the Great Dane was the inspiration for the ‘Be More Dog’ series. (Photo: Belinda Richards/Frog Dog Studios)

« The rest of the project just evolved from there, » she says. « I put out a call for models and off i went ! The aim of this project is to inject a bit of humor into social commentary using dogs and one brave cat so far. For example ‘It’s a Catastrophe’ plays on modern-day feminism and the current political climate surrounding that. »

‘Vote 1 Bagpuss’ is the one feline in the series. (Photo: Belinda Richards/Frog Dog Studios)

Although most of the images are dogs, there is one angry-looking feline, above, in the series. « Obviously ‘Vote 1 Bagpuss’ is playing on the current politics in the United States, » Richards says. « Some of the images are more lighthearted than others, but i hope they give everyone a good giggle. »

While creating, Richards starts with the photo and then figures out the pet’s personality when making the finished image. She says she doesn’t have favorite breeds in front of the camera. But she admits that she loves to shoot one of her own dogs.

The key to getting good photos is making sure each dog is relaxed and comfortable, she says. »It really depends on the dog. You don’t want to go too long because dogs can get tired just like children and you won’t get much out of them once they’ve had enough. »

She’s primarily working on commissioned pet portraits while creating more of her « Be More Dog » images when she has time. « I am enjoying the process so much and people seem to be responding so positively, » she says.